Monday, August 13, 2012

Date founded: Founded in 282 b.c. during the reign of Emperor Korei (r. 290–15 b.c.), according to shrine
tradition. The current buildings are from 1835.

Address: 3083-1 Ichinomiya-machi Miyaji,
Aso-shi, Kumamoto 869-2612

Tel/Information: 0967-22-0064. The
shrine is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

How to get there: JR HohiHonsen
Line to Miyaji Station, then 15 to 20 minutes on foot.

Enshrined kami: Takeiwatatsu no
mikoto.

Prayers offered: Safety on the seas
and the roadways, a good marriage, and academic success.

Best times to go: Mid-March for the
Hifuri Matsuri, or 28–29 July for the Onda Matsuri.

Important physical features: Aso
Jinja’s most important physical feature may be its proximity to the Aso
Volcano. The volcano actually has two caldera—the small “inner” one that is still
smoldering, and the huge “outer” one that is a broad and flat plain bordered on all
sides by a natural wall that constitutes the difference between the original
(higher) elevation of the ground and the lower elevation following the
eruption. In other words the elevation at the rim of the outer caldera (3,600 to 3,900 feet) is roughly equivalent to the height of the remaining peaks in the center (3,600 to 4,500 feet). The shrine lies in the northeastern part of the outer caldera—one of
the largest in the world at approximately eighty miles in circumference, and
the largest in which people are actually living. One of the craters near the center is active,
and though the occasional eruptions are small, it does smolder constantly and
emit enough gas to warrant color-coded warnings to alert visitors to the level
of danger. It is thought that the eruptions that produced the caldera happened
between 90,000 and 300,000 years ago.

Like
most shrines with a long history, Aso has been rebuilt numerous times—the last
in the mid-1800s. It has a magnificent, two-story romon gate about sixty-seven
feet tall that is said to be one of the three largest shrine gates in Japan(the others are at Hakozakigu in Fukuoka and Kashima Jingu in Ibaraki). It is
three bays wide and unpainted, differing from the other large romon in having a wide pent
roof surrounding it at the height of the first story—a feature more often seen
in Buddhist architecture. The lower roof is wider than the irimoya roof that
caps the structure, and it contains a karahafu over the center bay. Both roofs
are covered in copper tiles but were originally surfaced in shingles made of
tree bark.
A long covered fence extends from both sides of the gate, and smaller roofed
gates (yakuimon) punctuate the fence to the right and left. The impressive
two-tiered romon leads to a small courtyard that faces the nearby haiden. The
haiden has an irimoya-zukuri roof, the ridge of which runs from the entrance
side back toward the honden. Large chidorihafu (false dormers) emerge from just
under the roof ridge to both the left and right. A step canopy completes the
front side. A fence with a broad roof extends to the right and left, and is
also punctuated by entrance gates with karahafu. A four-by-two–bay room is positioned
at the front corners of the fence. From this point, the fence is lower and the
roof smaller as it wraps around the inner compound containing the honden.

The
inner compound contains three honden, though there is only one “god seat”
(shinza). It is an unusual feature, which is discussed below. Two of the honden
(called geden) stand side by side with a space of about ten feetbetween
them, while the third is in the center and to the rear. The two front
honden (geden) are identical five-by-two–bay nagare-zukuri structures, but with
irimoya gabled roofs and chidorihafu and karahafu on the front side. The roof
configuration is unusual but not unheard-of for a honden. The main ridge has
chigi and katsuogi, with chigi on the chidorihafu as well. The third building
is a much smaller two-by-two–bay structure with only a chidorihafu on the front
side of the irimoya roof. The roofs of all the structures are copper tile, and
all the wood is unpainted.

Onda Matsuri

Important spiritual features: The
main kami enshrined at Aso Jinja is Takeiwatatsu no mikoto, a grandchild of the
first emperor, Jinmu. Despite his noble lineage, no mention is made of the kami
in the Kojiki or the Nihon shoki. Much of what is known about him and about the
traditions of Aso Jinja comes from the Dazai kannaishi (1841) by Ito Tsunetari.
He compiled into eighty-two volumes, over thirty-seven years, old documents relating to Kyushu—of which
the Asosha engi was one. The Dazai kannaishi relates that Jinmu sent his
grandson to Kyushu to resettle the place from which their ancestors had emerged
and that the grandson built a palace in Miyaji. Shrine tradition states that
the kami first set about draining a large lake inside the caldera of the
volcano and then taught agriculture to the local people. Along the way he met Kusakabe
Yoshimi no kami—the deity enshrined at nearby Kusakabe Yoshimi Jinja—and
married his daughter, Asotsuhime. According to this tradition, after his
marriage, Takeiwatatsu decided to find a place to settle by firing an arrow
into the air. Yamura (literally, “arrow village”) in Miyaji is said to be the
spot from which he launched the arrow, while Aso Jinja marks the spot where it
landed. Much later, in 282 b.c., Emperor Korei ordered the founding of Aso no
Miya. Though not mentioned in the Engi shiki (927) list of shrines for the
province, it may be that three other shrines mentioned were later merged into
one. It is in this light that the three honden and one kami of Aso must be
viewed.

Another tradition of the shrine is
that of the juniza (Aso junisha), or twelve god seats of Aso shrine. These
include Takeiwatatsu, his wife and son, his father-in-law, and other relatives.
So it is that the honden to the left is said also to contain six male deities, and
the honden to the right six female deities. The honden in the middle rear is
called the shoshinden (once called Moromoro Jinja)
and enshrines all 3,132 deities mentioned in the Engi shiki. The arrangement
seems to date from the last reconstruction in the nineteenth century.

One
thing about this shrine that has been remarkably constant is its priesthood.
The Aso clan claim descent from the son of Emperor Jinmu, and their leader once
held the title of kuni no miyatsuko (provincial governor or country chieftain). This is the same Hayamikatama no mikoto who is enshrined at Aoi Aso Jinja, and he is considered a great-grandson of Jinmu. They were vast landholders and controlled the province until the fourteenth
century, thereafter continuing as the priestly family of Aso Jinja (from where the clan name was eventually taken).
Although the Meiji government abolished ancestral control of shrines, several
families managed to stay in position. The Senge of Izumo Taisha are one
example; they claim eighty-four generations as chief priests of the shrine. The
Aso clan are another and claim ninety-one generations.

Description: The Aso area of Kyushu
is currently being promoted for “ecotourism,” and with good reason. It is
largely unspoiled and has unique natural assets. The black volcanic soil is
rich and fertile, producing an abundance of crops, and the water here is said
to be some of the best in the country. The ancient volcanic pumice provides a
natural purification mechanism for the water that flows through the city of
Kumamoto toward the sea. It is the largest city in the world to have its
primary needs met by spring water. Of course, the magma under the volcano means
that there are also a large number of onsen hot springs in the area. The shrine
is located in Aso City, a relatively small community surrounded by farms and
fields, in the outer caldera of the volcano. The long, straight road that
passes in front of the shrine from north to south crosses the railroad line
about half a mile south of the shrine. In other words, the long approach is
perpendicular to the direction of the shrine, which faces east toward the
sunrise. The long, straight road is used for shrine ceremonies such as
horseback archery (yabusame) and fire swinging in the Hifuri Matsuri. The
shrine’s torii are also along this road, so that if you look southward, the
peaks of the inner caldera of Mount Aso are framed by them. One theory is that
the shrine originated on the side or the top of the mountains—though its own
tradition eschews this theory. Nevertheless, the volcano continues to loom
large in the background, and the earthquakes it generates have had a major
impact on of the life of the people. There are currently about five hundred Aso
shrines across the country of which this is the principal one.

Hifuri Matsuri

Festivals: Aso Hifuri Matsuri,
mid-March (the date varies). Originally an agricultural festival to pray for a
good harvest and celebrate the marriage between the deity of Aso and the rice
deity. When they are carried through the streets in mikoshi, large numbers of
participants greet them with taimatsu, or lighted torches of bundled grass,
swung round on ropes—and everyone is invited to join in. Designated an
Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Onda Matsuri, 28–29 July. A
traditional planting festival. Fourteen women called unari, wrapped in white
from head to toe, carry offerings of rice on their heads, accompanied by a
procession with mikoshi, shishimai (a lion dance), and oxen.

About This Blog

This blog is a guide to Shinto shrines throughout Japan. It is intended as a supplement to the book "Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion" which I co-authored with John Dougill. The book is published by University of Hawaii Press. It is also intended as a place to continue to publish my research into shrines and their history and as a forum for those interested in Shinto in general and shrines in particular.
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